


passion fruit

by axebastard



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Regional At Best Era, Teasing, Van Days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 23:04:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19799596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axebastard/pseuds/axebastard
Summary: They've been on the road for a good seven hours when Tyler asks Josh to stop.





	passion fruit

They've been on the road for a good seven hours when Tyler asks Josh to stop. Not at a gas station or a McDonald's but at one of those little roadside fruit stands - apples and strawberries and the like.  
  
"What's the point?" Mark asks, almost grumbling it, but the van has already been put in park, and Tyler is climbing out of it like a kid on his way to the fair.  
  
And Josh just shrugs and follows his lead, because what harm could it possibly do?  
  
Tyler approaches the stand with his hands in his hoodie pocket, a big goofy grin staking claim to his face. Josh lingers not far behind, flashing a nervous half-smile at the guy behind the counter while Tyler pores over the colorful assortment in front of them. It's strange to see him this excited over something as mundane as fruit, but Josh doesn't mind the enthusiasm. Anything is better than those melancholy pits he's prone to falling into.  
  
"The real question is," Tyler is saying, rubbing thoughtfully at his chin, "do we get strawberries or blueberries?"  
  
"Whatever you want, dude," Josh replies, which is typical of him; Tyler hums, unsatisfied.  
  
"Be honest, man. What d'you want?"  
  
Josh shifts his weight from foot to foot, eyes glued to the dirt. "Just get some blueberries."  
  
"Can't go wrong with that," Tyler says, and Josh's eyes are still cast downward, but he knows for a fact that his bandmate is smiling. The warmth of it kisses his face, his neck, his collarbone, and Josh swallows.  
  
The blueberries cost a grand total of three dollars. Josh stands by while Tyler makes polite conversation with the stand's owner, his voice reminiscent of every boy next door.  
  
"We're in a band. I sing and he plays the drums. We make a pretty good team, I think. We're actually on our way to a festival right now..."  
  
When they make their way back to the van, Tyler is already popping blueberries into his mouth, looking far more content than he has in months. Josh would say that it makes him happy to see Tyler in such high spirits, but that would be a gross understatement.  
  
The truth is, that look on Tyler's face - the unapologetic joy of it - makes Josh's heart swell like a balloon blown up by God himself. Sometimes he forgets how young Tyler is. Hell, how young they both are. This serves as a good reminder.  
  
"Took you guys long enough," Mark huffs, but he doesn't mean it. Not really. "I think I'm gonna take over for the next couple of hours. The last time Josh drove this long he almost fell asleep at the wheel and killed us all."  
  
So Josh sits in the back with Tyler. Sure, he could sit shotgun, but he doesn't want to. No, he wants to bask in Tyler's good mood, his humor, his charm. The sweetness of his breath. The delightful disarray of his hair.  
  
Tyler eats a blueberry, and he eats a blueberry, and he eats a blueberry, and Josh watches him, because Josh is always watching. But he isn't a creep. He's a creature of longing, and right now his heart is pressed up against his ribs like a kid's face against a window, fogging up his insides with want.  
  
_Be honest, man._  
  
"Want some?"   
  
Tyler is speaking to him now. Tyler is holding out the container, and it feels like a taunt: playful, sure, but agonizing all the same.  
  
Tyler is _agonizing_.  
  
"Sure," Josh mumbles, almost breathless; Tyler passes the torch, and Josh feels as if he's been handed a ticking bomb.  
  
Or maybe that's just the sound of his heart.  
  
They swap roles - Josh eats the fruit and Tyler watches. The difference is that, unlike Josh and all his sheepishness, he's almost smug about it. Knowing.  
  
Juice runs down Josh's chin. The bomb ticks louder.  
  
"Jeez, dude," Tyler says, still smug, still knowing, and he reaches out to wipe away the excess with a careless thumb, his other four fingertips curling snug under Josh's jaw. "No manners, I swear."  
  
Josh doesn't breathe, doesn't blink, and slowly but surely the thumb slides from his chin up to his lips, the pad of it tracing his sticky mouth like its shape is something worth memorizing. And as per usual, all he can do is sit there in limbo. If he leans in, he's desperate; if he leans back, he's not interested.  
  
_Are you interested?_ Josh asks himself, and his heart thunders an answer that can't be denied. An answer that ultimately comes too late, because Tyler is withdrawing his hand like it never happened, and Josh is too scared to go chasing after his touch. Too weighed down by insecurity and the fruit currently crystallizing in his stomach.  
  
Tyler sits back then, grinning wide enough to split his face in two, and it makes Josh so nervous that he can't help but open his mouth.   
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Nothing," Tyler says simply. "It's just funny how blueberries taste better when you're in love."  
  
The bomb detonates.  



End file.
